Warner Bros. moves against Web copies of 'Dark Knight'
Warner Bros. is going after the sites that posted pirated copies of the film The Dark Knight.
Studio says the first illegal version to show up online was a poorly lit, 'camcorded' copy.
(Credit: Warner Bros.)CNET News reported Monday that copies of the hit new Batman film could be found at several Web sites. Now, a spokesman for the studio said Warner Bros. is taking action.
"We actively search for these sites and services and have them taken down," said Craig Hoffman, a spokesman for Warner Bros.' worldwide antipiracy and technical operations. "While so far we have had compliance with our requests, we certainly reserve our rights to take whatever legal action necessary to protect our intellectual property."
Warner Bros. does see one positive in the pirating of The Dark Knight, Hoffman said. No copies of the film circulated before the film's theater debut.
"It is impossible to monitor every single screening at every theater worldwide to prevent it from being camcorded," Hoffman said. "Sadly, it is inevitable that an illegal copy of the film will eventually surface. What was a true accomplishment and unprecedented given the amount of interest and Internet buzz about The Dark Knight was despite hundreds of pre-release press, review, and promotional screenings worldwide, not a single copy of the film leaked prior to the official release."
According to Hoffman, the first copy, which was a poorly lit "camcorded copy," did not surface until 48 hours after the film's release. There's no way to confirm that, but it sounds about right.
"It was that copy that propagated on the Internet during the first days of the movie's release," Hoffman said.
Greg Sandoval covers media and digital entertainment for CNET News. He is a former reporter for The Washington Post and the Los Angeles Times. E-mail Greg, or follow him on Twitter at http://twitter.com/sandoCNET. 
World need to get smarter . Movie companies need to Develop a system to get to as many people as possible as fast as possible this best way to stop the Pirates
The Window between theater Release and DVD Release is to Long
couldnt agree more!!!!!!.i tihnk someone should start an online petition where we could all go and sign up,then hand it to the mpaa.show them proof that alot of pirating would die if they were to release the movies in the way you state.another thing is that with all the hype thats been on the net regarding The Dark Knight there was a massive buzz about the movie and by the time it gets released to dvd,all the folk that couldnt make it to the cinema arnt going to have the desperation to see the film as much as when it first gets released.hence could have made more money releasing on the net and in theaters.ive been buzzing about this film for ages,but due to my job commitments theres a good chance i wont be able to make it to the theater so i like alot of others will have to wait for the dvd,and by then i might have lost intrest due to reading all the reviews anyway.i hope they make a move forward in time soon.whats the most used form of entertainment nowdays,it was tv,then video and cinema,and now............the net!!!!!!!!!this is the first place it should get released!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It will never happen, at least, not in the the way to want. The only reason that movies make so much money (like The Dark Knight), is that the only way to see them for a month or so is in theaters, which make the movie companies money. Now, if they decided to put it out online as a download, even for a fee, the day it came out in theaters, then people would no longer need to go see it several times in the theaters. They could just buy it once, and have it and be done with it. The movie compaines would lose a bunch of money on this, not to mention that there would be no need to buy the movie on dvd/blueray when it came out. So, sadly, I dont think this will ever happen.
dude,i didnt mean download and keep,i mean pay for a showing over the internet via streaming,it surely could be a way to combat piracy.i would pay the same as going to the cinema to watch a streaming version with decent quality,legally as i prefer to watch movies in the comfort of my own home,and surely i cant be the only person who would do this.pay for a ticket over the net for a showing,they could put some sort of protection on to stop actual download.there you have it,effectivley doing the same as you would going to the cinema,paying online and being able to view the once.
Sure, that makes sense. But do you know how many ways there are to record streaming video onto how many different types of media? That could actually make pirating worse. And, sure, they could put some kind of protection on it to TRY and hinder people from pirating it, but there is no way they could make it completely secure.
I bought the DVD Saturday night, so it must have been out sooner.
1. $180 million is alot of money
2. There is no guarantee that any movie will make money, even with the pre-release hype that some get. It may be a flop, and not make half as much as it cost to create, meaning that those who created it, are out millions of dollars that they will never see again. Its a big risk to make a movie.
3. Those who create movies, all of them in the business, are just that: part of the business. This is their job, to make movies for the rabid fans. Of course they want to make money and get paid to do their job. It is a very risky job. I would hate to go to work every day and worry about if I am going to get paid for the work that I have done. Of course some would argue that when they do get paid, it is rediculous amounts of money. But at the same token, if the movie flops, then they lose a rediculous amount of money.
When Big hollywood companies do something like try to crackdown on internt piracy, we as the consumers get angry, for something that most of us dont even do. But the bottom line is, these big hollywood companies are just protecting their interests, the same as anyone else, you and me. Its just on a much larger scale.
This is why I usually arrive 10 to 15 minutes after the posted show times just to avoid them.
The studios need to understand that honest paying customers really want to be entertained by a film that has a good script, good actors and good entertainment from a film. The last thing that customers want are to see commercials which are the least things to see. We get those on not only TV but in our newspapers, radio, internet cellphones and I'll bet my hunches that they will be comming soon to an iPod or PSP near you folks! If not already! Yuck! I'm fed up with it!
I did not pay $10.00 simply to be brought or sold on anything. I just want to see a good movie with good actors and lots of action and have a good time with my friends just like everyone else does and if they could only remove those insipid commercials from the theater then it will be worth my $10.00.
Lets face it. Most theater chains get nearly 60 percent of their profit share from concessions alone and on top of that the studios from that $10.00 get a heafty portion of it
while the actors may lucky to get at least a quarter of that. Why do they need commercials in the theater when there are scores of billboards all over the theater itself selling popcorn?
Better yet since they have flat panel TVs mounted over the full length of the concession stands why don't they just reserve those for the commercials instead and not show them
inside the theater? A very good question here if I do say so myself.
The Dark Night fits my criteria as a good film with excellent actors such as the Joker (played by the the late Heath Legend) which will be worth the full price of my $10.00 to see!
- by YRG2012 July 24, 2008 12:41 PM PDT
- I, like you, used to get upset wondering why global corporations would not modernize to maximize profits and stop loss of income due to the proliferation of consumer recording devices. But now I realize that we are in the late stage of global capitalism and it's not my job to help large companies make more money off of me. Movie studios will soon be marginalized by gaming companies as the last of the film fans age and are replaced by the younger interactive generation, who needs much more stimulation to be distracted than their older ancestors.
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